1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 {no 7...g5 like in Carlsen-Topalov!} cxd4
5. Qxd4 a6 6. Bxd7+ Bxd7 7. O-O Nf6 8. Nc3 e5 9. Qd3 h6 10. Nd2 {a rare plan,
but it's been seen before. White tries to remaneuver his pieces to exploit the
weaknesses on d6 and d5. Black on the other hand is quite solid, with good
development, not to mention a potentially strong pair of bishops.} b5 {makes
plenty of sense to avoid the knight from coming to c4. White must justify his
play by attacking on the queenside aggressively.} 11. a4 Rb8 12. Rd1 Be7 13.
axb5 axb5 14. Nf1 {The knight heads to d5 anyway, but this seems to be too
slow. Black forces the hand of the knight on c3 before White can install his
knight on e3.} b4 $1 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. Qxd5 (16. exd5 O-O {is already even
worse for White. His isolated pawn on d5 will be weak in the long run.}) 16...
O-O 17. Ne3 Be6 18. Qd3 Qc7 19. Bd2 Rfc8 {Black has more than sufficient
pressure on the queenside. He isn't better, but White has no hopes for an
advantage. Because of White's control of d5 he is still ok.} 20. c3 bxc3 21.
Bxc3 Qb7 22. Nd5 {Now it is just a matter of time until White wins one of the
bishops for his knight, leading towards a drawish endgame. It is safer for
Black to exchange his dark square bishop than his light square bishop to
retain opposite colored bishops.} Bg5 23. h3 Ra8 24. Ne3 Bxe3 25. Qxe3 Rxa1 26.
Rxa1 Ra8 27. Rxa8+ Qxa8 28. f3 {Clearly, this game isn't going anywhere. The
draw is in sight.} Qc6 29. Kf2 f6 30. Kg1 Qc5 31. Qxc5 dxc5 1/2-1/2

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. e3 $5 {Clever. Aronian comes into the game with a very
clear opening preparation. A few players have tried 1.Nf3 c5 2.e4 against
Grischuk to trick him into a Sicilian, but Aronian has other thoughts in mind.}
Nf6 4. d4 cxd4 5. exd4 d5 6. Nc3 {Suddenly, we are in a Panov Caro-Kann. The
positions's are usually very unabalanced.} Bg4 {main line.} (6... e6 {is
possible.}) 7. Bg5 $5 {In a position that has been reached thousands of times,
Aronian chooses a move that has only been played 19 times in the database.
Grischuk sank into deep thought after this.} e6 (7... Ne4 {seems possible, but
after} 8. Be3 {it's unclear if the knight is well placed on e4.}) 8. cxd5 exd5
9. Qe2+ {Played very quickly.} Be6 {very natural, but Aronian started thinking
after this move. Perhaps he didn't expect it or his preparation was simply not
that deep.} 10. Bxf6 gxf6 {Black's pawn structure is shattered, but he has the
pair of bishops and White hasn't finished developing yet.} 11. Qc2 Qb6 12. a3 {
It almost feels like Aronian's last two moves were too slow.} O-O-O {The king
is as safe on the queenside as it will be anywhere else.} 13. Na4 Qc7 14. Bb5
Rg8 {Surprisingly, it is not trivial for White to defend the g2 pawn.} 15. O-O
(15. g3 Bh3 {is some trouble, as Bg2 is a difficult threat to parry.}) 15...
Bh3 16. Nh4 (16. g3 {was a very interesting idea, sacrificing the exchanage}
Bxf1 17. Bxf1 {gives White the structural advantage and slightly safer king.
Howeever when one plays a game it is clear that an exchange is an exchange, so
this cannot be done lightly.}) 16... Rg4 17. Bxc6 bxc6 (17... Rxh4 $5 {leads
to other kinds of craziness.} 18. Rac1 bxc6) 18. Qd3 Rxh4 19. gxh3 Qf4 {
Getting low on time, Grischuk's hand hovered over his queen for a while before
making this move.} 20. Rac1 (20. Qa6+ $1 Kd7 21. Rfe1 $132) 20... Kd7 $1 {A
very nice move, preemptively removing the king from the dangerous c-file.} (
20... Bd6 21. Rxc6+ Kd7 22. Rxd6+ {gives White more than enouguh compensation
for the exchange.}) 21. Rfe1 Bd6 22. Kf1 Qxd4 {Already in severe time pressure,
Grischuk manages to win a pawn. However it is very messy and difficult to play
precisely here.} 23. Qf5+ Kc7 24. Nc3 Kb7 (24... Qc4+ 25. Ne2 Qb5 $1 {looks
too complicated to be played by a human with minutes left and 15 moves to go.})
25. Ne2 Qe5 (25... Qe4 $1) 26. Qc2 Rc4 27. Qb3+ {Regaining the pawn, Aronian
equalizes.} Kc7 28. Rxc4 dxc4 29. Qxc4 Qd5 30. Qxd5 cxd5 1/2-1/2